Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-07-16
THE COYNE CASE.

Proceedings.
Editor Argus:
Rock ISLAND, III, July 16:-Your is
sue of Yesterday contains brief mention
of the failure of the board of supervisors
to appropriate money to continue the |
prosecution of W. l.. Coyne, breach of
duty which you characterize in fitting
terms. This extraordinary blunder is,
however, worthy of more than the pass
ing mention you gave 1t, and as a citizen
of the county. conversant with the facts, |
| ask you TO give space in your columns
to this statement of the case-that the Cit |
liens of this county may know, as they
are entitled to know. how their chosen
representatives are conducting our coun>
ty affairs At the last January term of
our circuit court-as most OF the people
of this community will remem ber-W. l..
Coyne was convicted of crime and SEN
fenced to term of two and half years
in the penitentiary. The jury that con-
victed him-an unusually intelligent
body OF men--came to their conclusion
| promptly and without difficulty, and the
| justice of their verdict WAS at once ap
proved by an overwhelming popular yer
| dict no less decided and unhesitating.
Had Coyne been poor man like most of
those condemned for criminal offences,
| he would long ago have been wearing the
garb of a felon and earning his board
| within the stern walls of the Joliet pens
itentisry. But this favored criminal had
money, and was thereby enabled to en-
ploy lawyers and appeal his case to the
| supreme court. He is, therefore, still at
| liberty, though under heavy bonds.
awaiting the trial of his case in the SUI
preme court next September.
AT the last meeting of the board the
states attorney represented to its mem
| bers the situation of this case of the
People VS.. Coyne, and urged upon them
the necessity of appropriating sufficient
sum TO properly present the case on be>
| half of the people. He did not ask them
to employ additional counsel; there was
no question of attorneys fees involved,
He simply asked them to appropriate a
| sum sufficient to cover the absolutely
necessary expenses of printing an argu-
ment and an abstract of the record, with
out which the peoples side of this case
could not be heard, and explained to them
fully that to fail to make such an appro-
priatiOn would amount to an abandon
ment of the case, inssmuch as he had No
funds upon which he could draw for such
| purposes, and must therefore depend
| upon special appropriation. 1t is due
to those members of the board who re-
cognized their plain duty to a1,end to the
prosecution of case of the people as
faithfully as to case involving their in
| dividual interests. to say here that a nil
norlty voted intelligently and conscien>
ti0usly on the matter, The majority,
however, actuated by mistaken notions
OF economy, or otherwise misapprehend-
ing the case or, possibly, influenced BY
| Coyne or his counsel voted it down
The matter again came up at the late
session and met similar fate.
1t seems hardly necessary TO call the
attention of intelligent minds to the I'M
intelligent and misguided folly and the
shameful breach of duty involved in this
action on the part of the supposed guar
| dams of the county's interests, If a re-
fusal to prosecute a convicted criminal is
proper or defensible in once it is in all
cases. To lay down such precedent is
to give license to all criminals to violate
the law with lmpunity. The next rich
| knave who chooses to commit theft, a
burglary. perjury or even murder, within
the borders of this county can do so with
little fear of consequences: for, if cons
victed he can confidently take an appeal
of his case, knowing that our board of
supervisors, following out policy of mar
row minded parsimony, vii! follow him no
farther. Having then clear field, upon
a resided presentation of his case, he
can count, almost with certainty, upon a
reversal.
Such is likely to be the fate of the cas- e
of The People vs. Coyne. thanks to our
board of supervisors, and so the time, the
expense, the labor involved in the trial
| and conviction of this man will have been
worse than wasted. Nor does the miss
chief end here. The criminal docket of
our court shows other cases against him,
hot yet disposed of, and if we can Judge
from his past career the future is likely
to be fruitful with yet others. But why
waste time and money in trying him up
on the charges already existing against
him or any Others only to repeat the farce
of giving him a clean and undisputed
field in the supreme court? Practically,
then, we grant immunity to Mr.. Coyne
10 do as he pleases in this county.
1t is charitable suppOsitiou that
economy was the controlling motive with
those who voted with the majority. But
the facts give them no justification even
on this scoS Thus far the case
has been conducted without ex-
ira expense to the county. Al.
though most difficult and laborious
J case. occupying ten days in actual trial
and many more in preparatory work, the
county was not asked to employ an as
sistant counsel. The services of Mr..
Kenworthy and myself were gratuitously
given, and we have. neither of us, ever
asked, been offered or received one cent
from the county. Furthermore, the re-
Il suit Of our work was to compel CoynC to
pay into the county treasury for the costs
of his trial. and the costs involved in bis
appeal-about $3.50. The board. there
fore, had, not only, not been asked fol-
, anything 10 pay us for our services but
actually have fund to go on, earned by
/ US, furnished by Cuyne himself and now
IN the county treasury. which is much
more than sufficient to pay the expenses
of his further prosecution.
, If the majority of the members of our
county board are of the opinion that
; suits in which the county is concerned
are of no importance that they can dis
miss civil suits according as the within
seizes them, stop the prosecution of
criminals, overturh the verdicts of lurles
and the judgments of courts aud render
) useless and worse than idle all our ma
chinery for the preservation of law and
! order and the form of civilized govern
ment in this community, is it not time
that the people. whose most vital inter-
ests are thus constantly at hazard. should
know it, that they NAV put 10 the places
of those so minded men of more brain'
) whose policy of county government vii
be governed by something beyond ,
spirit of pinching economy?
2 ADAIR PLEAsANTs.